John Donne quotes English poet, satirist, lawyer, and priest, is now considered the preeminent representative of the metaphysical poets Born: 01/22/1572 Died: 03/31/1631 Country: united_kingdom

• Despair is the damp of hell, as joy is the serenity of heaven. (John Donne) [joy]
• I would not that death should take me asleep. I would not have him merely seize me, and only declare me to be dead, but win me, and overcome me. When I must shipwreck, I would do it in a sea, where mine impotency might have some excuse; not in a sullen weedy lake, where I could not have so much as exercise for my swimming. (John Donne) [death/take/excuse/exercise]
• As virtuous men pass mildly away, and whisper to their souls to go, whilst some of their sad friends do say, the breath goes now, and some say no. (John Donne) [men]
• No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. (John Donne)
• When one man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a better language. (John Donne) [language]
• I observe the physician with the same diligence as the disease. (John Donne) [disease]
• At most, the greatest persons are but great wens, and excrescences; men of wit and delightful conversation, but as morals for ornament, except they be so incorporated into the body of the world that they contribute something to the sustentation of the whole. (John Donne) [men/conversation/morals/soul & body]
• When I died last, and, Dear, I die as often as from thee I go though it be but an hour ago and lovers hours be full eternity. (John Donne)
• As he that fears God hears nothing else, so, he that sees God sees every thing else. (John Donne) [god/god/thing]
• Man is not only a contributory creature, but a total creature; he does not only make one, but he is all; he is not a piece of the world, but the world itself; and next to the glory of God, the reason why there is a world. (John Donne) [god]
• But I do nothing upon myself, and yet I am my own executioner. (John Donne)
• More than kisses letters mingle souls. (John Donne) [more/mail]
• Love, all alike, no season knows, nor clime, nor hours, days, months, which are the rags of time. (John Donne) [love/time]
• Take me to you, imprison me, for I, except you enthrall me, never shall be free, nor ever chaste, except you ravish me. (John Donne) [take]
• Sir, more than kisses, letters mingle souls. For, thus friends absent speak. (John Donne) [more/mail/speak]
• Love built on beauty, soon as beauty, dies. (John Donne) [love/beauty/beauty]
• Busy old fool, unruly Sun, why dost thou thus through windows and through curtains call on us? Must to thy motions lovers seasons run? (John Donne) [fool/sun/windows]
• We are all conceived in close prison; in our mothers wombs, we are close prisoners all; when we are born, we are born but to the liberty of the house; prisoners still, though within larger walls; and then all our life is but a going out to the place of execution, to death. (John Donne) [prison/walls/life/death]
• Pleasure is none, if not diversified. (John Donne) [pleasure]
• Full nakedness! All my joys are due to thee, as souls unbodied, bodies unclothed must be, to taste whole joys. (John Donne) [taste]
• I throw myself down in my chamber, and I call in, and invite God, and his Angels thither, and when they are there, I neglect God and his Angels, for the noise of a fly, for the rattling of a coach, for the whining of a door. (John Donne) [god/god/silense & noise]
• And new Philosophy calls all in doubt, the element of fire is quite put out; the Sun is lost, and the earth, and no mans wit can well direct him where to look for it. (John Donne) [philosophy/sun/look]
• Affliction is a treasure, and scarce any man hath enough of it. (John Donne) [treasure]
• God employs several translators; some pieces are translated by age, some by sickness, some by war, some by justice. (John Donne) [god/age/war/]
• Be your own palace, or the world is your jail. (John Donne)
• Contemplative and bookish men must of necessity be more quarrelsome than others, because they contend not about matter of fact, nor can determine their controversies by any certain witnesses, nor judges. But as long as they go towards peace, that is Truth, it is no matter which way. (John Donne) [men/more/matter/]
• Whenever any affliction assails me, I have the keys of my prison in mine own hand, and no remedy presents it selfe so soone to my heart, as mine own sword. Often meditation of this hath wonne me to a charitable interpretation of their action, who dy so: and provoked me a little to watch and exagitate their reasons, which pronounce so peremptory judgments upon them. (John Donne) [prison/meditation/action/watch]
• To be no part of any body, is to be nothing. (John Donne) [soul & body]
• Wicked is not much worse than indiscreet. (John Donne)
• He must pull out his own eyes, and see no creature, before he can say, he sees no God; He must be no man, and quench his reasonable soul, before he can say to himself, there is no God. (John Donne) [eyes/god/god]
• Let us love nobly, and live, and add again years and years unto years, till we attain to write threescore: this is the second of our reign. (John Donne) [love]

Calendar

Sun Mon Tue Wen Thu Fri Sat Apr 23 [137] 24 [57] 25 [65] 26 [51] 27 [71] 28 Apr 29 [10] 30 [58] 1 [2] 2 [50] 3 [73] 4 [75] 5 [35] May 6 [75] 7 [104] 8 [50] 9 10 [106] 11 [79] 12 [50] May 13 [50] 14 [8] 15 [75] 16 [114] 17 [50] 18 [112] 19 May 20 [79] 21 [76] 22 [59] 23 [43] 24 [38]

The Best Authors

Search

Pop by Searches

Best Quote

Worst Quote